BRADFORD’S biggest school has been placed in special measures after a “collapse” in pupil performance.

Emergency meetings have been called after inspectors slammed Grange Technology College and stripped it of its ‘good’ rating, replacing it with ‘inadequate’.

The head of the trust which runs the school, Dominic Wall, said the Ofsted report, due to be published this week, was “very hard” to read.

He has asked the Regional Schools Commissioner to give him 12 months to turn around the Little Horton school, which has around 1,800 pupils and 300 staff.

As well as the urgent meetings, he has called for parents to become school governors, admitting they will be “rightly frustrated and angry” with Ofsted’s findings.

Inspectors who visited in May said leadership was inadequate and governors had accepted “unconvincing explanations” about poor standards.

The report said there were “stark shortcomings” in the school’s sixth form provision which students had a “lukewarm view” of.

The drop-out rate of around 250  students at sixth form is high, with a third of year 12 pupils not moving on to year 13.

Mr Wall took over as the chief executive of Southfield Grange Trust in January after the retirement of head teacher Paul Burluraux.

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In a letter sent to parents this weekend, he said: “This is a very hard Ofsted report to read. We are very sorry that the school has not been supporting students well enough for them to make the best progress in their learning and personal development.

“We can do better, and with your help we will do better.”

The school was rated inadequate in every category apart from personal development, behaviour and welfare, where it requires improvement.

Many schools in similar positions are forced to be taken over by successful academy chains.

Mr Wall is due to present an action plan to the Regional Schools Commissioner in the next few weeks. He will meet with parents early this week and staff on Saturday to hammer out the details.

The Ofsted report says: “Pupils’ achievement has declined rapidly and senior leaders have failed to take effective action to address this collapse.

“Too many pupils do not reach their potential.

“The professional development of teachers is not good enough because teachers choose the training they will take part in rather than being directed to the opportunities that will make the biggest difference.

“Pupils’ progress across most subjects is weak. Achievement in mathematics across all stages, including sixth form, is especially poor.”

The report does, however, point out that Mr Wall has “quickly recognised the need for substantial and sustained extended partnership with a successful school.”

It also says the school’s safeguarding is effective, that pupils feel safe and the school offers an inclusive environment.

In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph & Argus, Mr Wall said the school had started a partnership with Guiseley School, which is offering support needed to improve, and Oldham Sixth Form College.

“We’re very disappointed that the school hasn’t been good enough for the students and families of Grange. It is a very hard hitting report, and critical of the leadership,” he said.

“We have fantastic students, and I’m sure we can do a better job for them.

“Many of our teachers work very hard and are extremely dedicated to the community they serve, but from September we are going to have a much stronger focus on developing teachers’ expertise.

“There is a clear criticism of leadership in this report, and that we haven’t focused on what makes the most difference. From September onwards this is what we have to be focusing on 110 per cent.

“The schools we are working in partnership with will help us improve quickly and I’m confident this help will make a significant difference.

“We have a plan to turn the school around in 12 months.

“Families will be quite rightly frustrated and angry with this report, but I appeal with them to tell us about those concerns and what improvements they want to see.”

He also encouraged parents to volunteer to become governors at the school, adding: “I want them to be able to hold us to account.”

Councillor Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s cabinet member for education, employment and skills, said the report was “extremely concerning”.

“Grange is an academy and is not under council control, but we urge them to work closely with the Regional Schools Commissioner, parents and governors to put robust plans in place so that the school can make rapid improvement and deliver the education that students deserve.”